Storage-battery electrode.



PATENTED .JIILY 16; 1907.

.Niusof QSQ T. A. EDISON. STORAGE BATTERY ELECTRODE.

APPLICATION FILED ARR. 28. 1905. 7

Inventor a I/ by 0 (fin-, Me i M tty -Nrrn s rafrns PAT pNT Prion.

THOMAS A. EDISON, OF LLEWELLYN PARK, OHAXGE, NEW JERSEY, .iSSIGNOR TO EDISON STORAGE BAFTERl UOllIPANY, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, A GORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

STORAGE-B ATTERY ELECTRODE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1907.

\ Application filed April 28,1905. Serial No. 267,942.

To all whom it may concern:

,Be it known that I, Tnoniis ALvA EDISON, a citizen of the United .States residing at Llewellyn Park, Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey,

have invented a certain new and useful Storage-Battery Electrodeiof whichthe following is a description.

In an application [or Letters Patent filed on even date herewith, by Jonas W. Aylsworth and myself, Serial No. 257,807 we describe an improved electrode for storage batteries of the Edison type, wherein the active material is supported in a number of small perfo rated tubular inclosing pockets having closed ends and carried by a suitable grid or electrode support. Owing to the non-elastic nature of such a tubular pocket, provision has to be made, as disclosed in said application, for securing the desired elastic pressure on the active material to maintain the particles-in contact with the conducting films or flakes and in contact with the inclosing walls, as for instance, by relyingon the gas pressure within the active mass, which pressure is retarded by suitably proportioning the size of the apertures in the inclosing pocket relatively to the viscosity of the solution used, or by employing flakes or ,iilms of an elastic metal, such as cobalt or cobaltnickel alloy. i v

My present invention relates to an improvement on the electrode referred to, by which I am enabled to secure a high degree of elasticity of the pocket walls to thereby accommodate variations in bulk within the active mass, and at the same time maintaining the desired elastic pressure on the active mass to keep the particles thereof always firmly in contact with the conducting lilms or flakes and with the conducting walls, the process of manufacture being such that the area of contact will be ycry largely increased as will be explained, whereby the efliciency of the electrode will be much improved.

My object, generally, is to provide an electrode of simple construction, capable of being readily and 40 economically manufactured and assembled, and wherein a minimum amount ol' llakc-like material may be employed to secure the maximum degree of conducting capacity. By thus reducing the amount oi flnke-like conducting material to the minimum, l effect a considernblc diminution in cost and Weight.

"lo this end the invention consists in longitudinally vorruguting or lluting the tubular conducting pockets :ll'tcr lhonc-livc material has been introduced within the same. whereby the active material will be more closely inched together to increase the area and degree of contact'lvctwccn lhc active particles and the gun- (lucting llaltcs or films and between the act ivc particles and'the conducting walls, and l'urtln-rmorc, making the pocket elnslic, so illlll, it may :u-mnnnmlntc varies tions in bulk of the active material, and at the same time resulting in the application of substantially continuous elastic pressure on the active mass. In order that the invention may be better understood attention is directed to the accompanying draw in gs, forming part of this specification and in which I Figure 1 is a side elevation of one of the tubular inclosing pocl cets, illustrating in dotted lines, the manner or flattening and closing the en ds thereof. Fig. 2 a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale through a pocket, before the latter is corrugated. Fig 3 a corresponding view, showing one form of.corrugationsand Fig. 4 an elevation, illustrating a complete eleetrode with the pockets in position.

In these views, corresponding parts are represented by the same numerals of reference. v

As described in said Edison and llylsworth application, the tubes 1 are made preferably of very thin perforated sheet iron or nickel, thinly coated on each side with cobalt-nickel alloy to improve the contact, and

after the seam is formed, the tubes are subjected to a sufficiently high temperature in hydrogen to weld the seam throughout, resulting in the production of a substantially continuous tube. After the tubes have been filled with the active material, as described in the said application, or in any other suitable way, they are corrugated longitudinally (see Fig. 3) by any suitablearrangement of dies, or otherwise, whereby the active material will be compressed to consolidate the mass and improveihe area and degree of contact between the active particles and the conducting films or flakes, and at the same time elasl f ty of the pocket walls will be secu-rcdto accommodatcany variations in bulk of the active material-land to always exert the desired elastic pressure thereon. lt will be, of course, understood, that instead of forming the corrugations completely around the entire periphery of the tube, the corrugations may be formed only for a portion of its circumfcrcnce, the idea being to secure elasticity and to consolidate thenctive mass to the desired 'eittent;- I find that if the pocket walls are not corrugated, it is practically impossible to secure as goodcontact and as extensive anarca of contact between the active particlcs and the conducting films or flakes and the pocket walls; in fact mimue interstices are formed lhruughout the active mass, which are not closed by the application of a tamping pressure. As observed under the microscope, few of the particlcs are in flat contact with thc comlncting lilms or with the pocket walls; some of them are practically out. of contact with the conduclors and many pnrticlcs make contact with the conductors only at the angles or coilncrs which the particlcs present.

in Fig. 2, l have illustrated diugijain nnttirally, al-

though of course to an exaggerated extent, the general arrangement of active particles, which might take place ii a tamping pressure were alone used, the contactfilliis or flakes being omitted for the purpose of clearance. By applying a very great corrugating pressure to the tubular pockets; as explained, the active mass will be consolidated to force all the particles in I contact with the conducting films and pocket walls and to actually crush the particles to increase the areaoi contact, as shown generally in Fig.3. B y corrugating the pocket walls, as explained; I do away with the necessity of providing for the imposition of elastic pressure from within the mass, as described in said Edison andsriylsworth application, and although when first c"nstructed',.the active mass within each pocket is losely consolidated, yet, the elasticity of the .poclket s is s'diiicient toaccommodate not nly the generaLlbut limitedswelling, which takes place by absorption of the electrolyte, and due also to gas pressure,

but also the variations in bulk, due to charging and disas new therein and desire to secureby Letters Patent is as follows p'i'ising'a perforated tubular longitudinally corrugated Inetallic insoluble iucloslng pocket, having: active material therein under elastic pressure and affording the entire support for the active material, substantially as set forth. 2. An electrode unit 101' alkaline storage batteries. com prising a perforated tubular longitudinally corrugated metullic insoluble inclosing pocket, having active material therein under elastic pressure and affording the entire support for the active material and having substantially as set forth.

3. Alrelectrode for alkalinevs'torngc batteries, compris in; a perforated tubular longitudinally corrugated inclosing pocket. having active material therein under elastic pressure said pocket having a welded coating of nickelcobalt alloy applied tome same, substantially as set forth.

4. An.alkalinc'storage battery electrode, comprising an electrode support, a plurality of perforated tubular longitudinally corrugated metallic insoluble pockets carried by the same, and containing actlve'material under elastic pressure and atfoi'ding the entire support tor the'aetive material, substantially as set forth.

Au alkaline storage battery electrode, comprising an electrode support and a plurality of perforated tubular longitudinally. corrugated metallic insoluble incl osing pockets riveted throughout and carrying active material 'nuder elastic pressure and alfordlng-the entire support for the active material, substantially as set forth. I This specification signed and-witnessed this 26th day of April 1905. I

rnos. A. EDISON. Witnesses:

FRANK L. DYER, Anna R. KLEHM.

1. An electrode unit for alkaline storage'butteries, coin v flattened ends, 

